Trueno resto: 11 weeks later..

..and we have the birth of a new Trueno! We spent last saturday fitting the last of the parts back on the car, cleaned and refitted the interior, and of course mounted the new TE37V for the first time under the new colour. They sit so perfectly under the car, slight mixup with tire sizes 195/60/14 rubs everything so my old Yoko 185/55 are on the front, and I must order some more for the back and centre the axle while I'm at it.

I'm absolutely in love with the new colour, it came out very well, unfortunately the camera (or Irish weather!) don't do it justice but Ill do my best here... But the bodywork is done now, its brilliant having a real car back, and I'm looking forward to getting stuck into the next few jobs on the running gear. Had to give the rear boot lid trim a little coat of satin black so not many pics of the rear end but when I catch a sunny evening I will take some more shots. Ill let the pics say the rest for now!

Trueno resto: update #5 **preview**

Reconstruction is underway...

Trueno resto: update #4

What a weekend.. Finally saw the new colour in the flesh for the first time.. Its a special graphite grey, the code of which shall remain secret but I am really really happy with it, it's exactly what I wanted. The phone camera does not do it justice, a proper photoshoot will be most definitely be in the works when the paint is fully finished and the car is rebuilt and back on the road. This is the finish straight off the gun, the car still has to be "flicked" back and polished up again, and the bumpers, doors, skirts, bonnet etc still have yet to be done.

 

 Also got the new 195/60 Falken ZE912's exploded onto the TE37V's with the help of a bead-blaster, they survived the experience unscathed and have a perfect amount of balloony tyre stretch.. Works very well for the all important Arch/Tyre/Wheel fitment triangle!! These next shots were taken a few days after the earlier shots so the car is quite a bit dustier now, and again the camera does not do the colour justice but the fitment is clearly visible :)

 

All painting and final polishing should be completed by this Friday, and I plan to start rebuilding the car early next week! More pics then. Hope you like the progress so far!

Trueno resto: update #3

Time for another update, I got to see the car on saturday afternoon and I was delighted with the progress!

• small hole in roof spot welded
• all arches repaired, flared, and primed
• rear 1/4 panel dent fixed
• front bumper and splitter repaired and primed
• rear bumper repaired and primed
• boot lid primed
• new rear panel primed

 

trim panel has since been removed, the hole for the non existant lock is getting filled

Its looking great as a work in progress thats really taking shape sooner than I thought! I also Confirmed my colour choice too after a good look at the colour card and a million pics on the net so I'm confident I made a nice choice. I will miss the black over graphite alot but I think its time for the car to evolve a little bit, I have a vision in my head I have to create! I also offered the TE37V up to their new home...

A couple of other small jobs yet to do but the body of the car should mostly be painted by next weekend, the bonnet will be fitted unpainted and lined up afterwards so they can properly fit the new Aero-catches Ive had for ages , then the bonnet will be painted last and hopefully we can start putting it all back together again maybe in a fortnight or so!

Trueno resto: update #2

Just received some pics of the progress and I'm very happy with it so far. All 4 arches are now flared out, the snow damaged rear quarter and back bumper is repaired already and look great. Cant wait to try the TEVs on under these new arches :)

The little 6.5Js struggle to fill the newly created void but it shows how much the new nines will fatten up the rear.

Even the splitter is getting repaired.... again!

Trueno resto: **fresh wheels arrive...

 A soul is put to a Japanese product...

I always really loved the colour and design of bronze TE37s, before I got into AE86s or even Japanese cars.  When I bought my Trueno and it came with them fitted it was a real treat. As time went by, I found myself wishing they were just that bit wider, and perhaps with a bit of dish/more offset. The 6.5J et0's while ridiculously light and strong, always seemed a little tame compared to some of the other tasty wheels out there. Then one day Rays made the TE37V. In 15". Close but not close enough..

But, eventually my dreams were answered ,and Rays announced a fat range of 14" TE37V in 4x114.3!!! After much thought I got a great offer from RHDJapan that I just couldn't resist, and with the car going to the bodyshop it seemed like the perfect, if only time to do it.

 

  So just this morning they arrived, 14x8.5 -5 (m-rim) for the front, and 14x9 -15 (l-rim) for the rear...

 

 Along with the "shower caps" they also came with another set of fresh valves, and the matching retro style "RAYS" and "TE37V" decals.

 

 

All stickered up, ready for some fresh rubber, we will try 185/55 and 195/55 to begin with...

Obligatory "what fits in the whale" shot :)

Trueno resto: update #1

Over a  week since I saw my Trueno last, but here is what greeted me on Saturday when I made the long trip to the bodyshop! 

 One of Kevs magical 14x9 -19 offset Watanabes, sitting as a test wheel  under the rear of my 2 door. This will be the template for flaring out the rear arches to cover my *new wheels* which are the same size but slightly less extreme -15 offset. It should be perfect as I will hopefully be able to drive hard without any rubbing but still contain a 195/55 or 185/60 with zero arch gap.

For the front arches, I borrowed one the 14x8.5 -13ish Watanabes. This one was temporarily fitted with a 195/60 for the same purpose, and also as it was a handy brand new (if 13year old) tire we had lying around! I will probably stay with a 185/55 on the front so again the bigger test wheels hopefully mean just a little more arch clearance and no rubbing!

Also that new rear lower panel had arrived from Toyota and was already fitted. They repaired the lower lip part of the upper panel too which had gone rusty.

Looking good! More updates next week...

Trueno resto: it begins

Wednesday afternoon, call received, a few hours later I was at the bodyshop where the Trueno spent the weekend. 3 hours after our arrival,  my 2 door Sprinter was stripped down and ready for paint prep!

 

 Luckily my rear quarter dent didnt extend to the pocket area, and only a little bit of rust was found under the boot lid seal near the lid striker.

Removing the skirts and arches thankfully revealed no suprises, all sills and panels in pretty good shape for 24 years old! Just one or two small seams starting to go so its a great time to stop the rust before it takes hold.

 

Doors were stripped of interior trim, glass, regulators, locks and handles.. and added to the pile of body parts..

It was really weird driving the car with no bodywork! with no doors or hood you can really feel how small and narrow these cars are..

All clean around the lights, fuel door, and right side pocket!

Here was one thing I was expecting.. The rear lower panel was quite flakey, and even worse underneath..

So a new one was ordered from Toyota, and will arrive on monday or tuesday. Amazing to still be able get new panels for old hachis :) The rest of the back panel area was in great condition so this repair will keep the car in good health for many years.

 

The last view I have of her, next time I take a picture there will be some nice changes, which will all be revealed in good time :) 

Big thanks to Kev and Anonymouse for the mega help!